Casting the Vessel
by Quixque
Summary: Naruto is known for random bursts of genius in combat. A couple of these bursts occurring during the Mizuki incident lead to profound changes for our favorite blonde and those he holds precious.


I do not own the rights to Naruto. I do own a few copies of Shonen Jump and have access to the anime, but that is it.

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><p><em>Without warning, the kyubi no yoko appeared within the village's walls. Its nine thrashing tails quickly decimated numerous buildings that housed both shinobi and civilians. Immediately, the village's jonin and ANBU began fighting off the kyubi while chunin directed the genin and civilians to safety.<em>

_With the aid of the retired Sandaime Hokage, they pushed the beast out beyond the village walls. Soon after the chakra beast was outside the village, it let loose a ferocious ball of energy meant to destroy everything. Fortunately, the Yondaime Hokage arrived to spirit the kyubi and its attack away using his hiraishin no jutsu. Though the great beast was still visible from the village, it was too distant for any within its walls to witness the details of the kyubi's defeat. With a blinding flash of light the kyubi was no more and the Yondaime lay dead amongst his fellow ninja._

'_I __never __really __thought __about __it __until __now, __but __the __academy __sensei __never __did __say __that __the __kyubi __was __dead__'_, Naruto thought to himself as he trudged along behind an older ninja. The preteen whisker-marked blonde boy had a large scroll, clearly labeled "forbidden seals", strapped to his back as he attempted to shrink inside his oversized orange jacket. The glares and mutterings of those around him were even greater than usual and only served to compound his depressing thoughts and self-recriminations.

Before the feelings could overwhelm him, the older ninja placed a comforting hand upon Naruto's shoulder, "I'm sure Sandaime-sama is ready for us now. What say we get there a little faster and avoid all this fuss?" With a soft smile for Naruto, he promptly shunshined the two directly into the Hokage's office.

The Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was arranging various forms on his desk when the two arrived. With a stern look and quick hand gestures, the Hokage said, "I've ordered my ANBU to leave and secure this room. Naruto, we have important matters to discuss, least of which are tonight's events." He takes a long draw from his pipe before continuing, "We'll start with a full debriefing of your actions beginning with the graduation exam."

* * *

><p>"… so that's when I ran away, like Iruka-sensei told me to. When I couldn't see them anymore I made some clones and we split up to sneak away and hide." Naruto pauses and frowns, trying to remember everything that happened, "I heard movement in the trees and thought Mizuki-teme found me, but it was Iruka. I almost came out of hiding until I saw myself as well, attacking him. Turns out that they were Mizuki and Iruka in disguise. They argued for a bit and Iruka-sensei said that he liked me and I was a fine student!" A wide grin spreads across Naruto's face as he recalls the warm feelings of acceptance that acknowledgement brought on.<p>

The fire in his eyes slowly dims as his eyes turn cold remembering the next few moments, "That's when Mizuki-teme said he was going to kill Iruka-sensei first and threw a fuma shuriken while Iruka couldn't move." Naruto ducks his head down and scratches the back of his head, flashing back to the fear he felt at that moment, "I just, sorta, lost it then. I was so angry and scared. Other than you and the Ichirakus, Iruka-sensei is the only friend I have. So, I kicked the shuriken away then swarmed Mizuki with my clones."

Naruto's grin comes back full force as he thinks about the beat-down he delivered to Mizuki, "heh... That'll show him not to underestimate me!"

The Hokage calmly puffs on his pipe as he thinks through the events as Naruto described and his own observations using the scrying orb. Though there were slight embellishments, mainly in misremembered conversations, Naruto's report was accurate and the explanations of his thought processes were surprising when compared to the academy files.

It is not that he didn't trust Naruto or that he thought that his goal of becoming Hokage was impossible, but all he had to measure Naruto's skills were the academy records and personal observation. Hiruzen realizes that he truly does not know what Naruto's skills and mind are like anymore.

The academy reports paint a picture of incompetence and carelessness. Until this year, Naruto frequently skipped classes and was consistently last in every grading category. He was always smiling or laughing, pulling pranks or clowning around instead of paying attention and doing the work. Yet, while most of his pranks were simple and harmless, some were quite complex and belied the skills the reports showed he had.

It did not help matters that in the brief time he was usually able to spend with Naruto, the blonde boy acted like a child years younger than he actually was. If the Hokage did not know better, and was meeting Naruto for the first time during one of his visits, he would swear that the boy was no older than seven or eight. Nevertheless, here he is having successfully broken into the Hokage tower, while evading multiple squads of ANBU and jonin, and learning both the "B" and "A" ranked version of a kenjutsu in a few hours, before defeating a chunin level traitor. It just wasn't adding up.

Taking another long hit off his pipe, the Hokage begins to talk, "Naruto, my boy. I agree with Iruka's recommendation for a field promotion to genin. Effective as of 15:00 today you have been a shinobi of Konohagakure and assisted Umino Iruka on a low "B" rank mission to get confirmation on and to apprehend a suspected traitor working in the academy."

The Hokage pauses to tap out the ashes in his pipe before relighting it. His lips quirk up into a small smile as he watches as the news settles in Naruto's head. "The complete story that you both are to use will be given to you in the morning. You are to come here prior to going anywhere else to learn the details."

"Now then, Naruto, your jonin sensei will be made aware of the true events and will receive special instructions regarding you." Naruto frowns and is about to interrupt before the Hokage continues, "Don't get upset, Naruto, but many things about today don't add up and I need your jonin sensei to perform a complete evaluation of your skills. According to what the academy reports show, you should have been captured well before making it inside my home. Until your sensei and I know what your true skills are, there is no way for us to determine what the team dynamics will be."

Naruto's frown deepens as the Hokage continued speaking. When he got to the point about team dynamics, time froze as his thoughts from the walk over rushed back and he came to a decision, "Jiji, I don't think I'm ready to be a ninja."

This announcement caused both men to stare at the boy, dumbfounded. "Naruto-kun, why would you say that? Everything you did tonight shows that you have the needed skills to be a genin. Clearly the academy reports were incorrect in their assessment of you."

Naruto just shakes his head sadly with a defeated look on his face, "Not really. I'm not as good as I say." Naruto never looks up to see the surprise on Iruka's or the Hokage's face as he quietly continues, "I've been thinking about it ever since Mizuki turned on me. I used to try real hard in the academy, you know."

Now he lifts his head and looks at the old man, an earnest look hoping that he will be able to understand, "When I started at the academy, I was so excited. I was going to be a ninja, like you. I got to class early with all of my supplies, ready to learn. But… when the sensei came in and saw me, he had those eyes. I tried to answer questions or ask some when I got confused, but he ignored me. They all did. Even Iruka-sensei. Some even kicked me out of class before I had a chance to do anything wrong. And that was before I started pranking them."

Remembering his first months teaching at the academy, Iruka could only lower his head in shame. He _knew_ Naruto was hurting the moment he saw him in class. The signs were obvious, if only because he was the same way after the kyubi attack. However, he let his feelings for the kyubi and the words of older instructors sway him into ignoring the boy. Things have changed since then, but the first few months, almost the entire first year he was teaching, were far from his proudest days in his treatment of the boy he now considered a little brother.

Unaware of Iruka's reaction, Naruto continues, "This year has been a lot better. I've learned a lot from Iruka-sensei, but I still missed a lot too. I just don't understand everything and didn't want to look like even more of a baka in class by asking questions about things everyone else seemed to understand."

Naruto's unflinching eyes remain on the Hokage as he finishes, "I'm not ready. There isn't anything I can offer a team and would put them in danger because I don't have a clue how much I missed and don't know. I will become Hokage, but I've gotta become a ninja first."

Hiruzen sighs as he sets the pipe down and pulls out new forms, "I understand your reasons, Naruto-kun, but that just proves why you are ready to be a genin. As far as I'm concerned, you have passed your final genin exam." This made Iruka's eyes widen in surprise and Naruto to squint in confusion.

"I'm going to ignore your request. Tonight has been traumatic and you are under great stress. If I allowed you to resign now, you would be kicking yourself in the morning. However, I have listened to everything you had to say. Therefore, I will place you into the reserves, alongside those graduating from your class that fail their jonin sensei's exam."

The Hokage pauses, as he looks both Naruto and Iruka in the eye. Seeing that he has both of their attentions, he continues, "Over the next two days Iruka will administer a full evaluation of your abilities. This is something I planned on having your jonin sensei perform, but seeing as Iruka will be teaching you individually for the next few weeks, at least, he'll do." Turning toward Iruka, he continues, "Using that, plan a training regimen for Naruto focusing on the academy curriculum. If he shows interest in something outside of the standard fare, add it if possible."

"What this means for you, Naruto, is lots of hard work. If you are as behind as it appears, you will need to do everything Iruka tells you. No slacking! That does not mean just keep trying without understanding. If you don't know something, or don't understand what is required, ask Iruka. He'll be there the entire time to help you."

A chorus of "Hai, Hokage-sama/jiji!" sounded out from the other two.

"Iruka, you're going to have a full night putting your report together and preparing for Naruto's exam, so you may leave. There is more for Naruto and I to discuss."

After Iruka left, Naruto and the Hokage had a very long conversation covering everything that Naruto could think up concerning jinchuriki and his thoughts on the village in general. Hiruzen's guilt was such that he went so far as to tell Naruto about the previous two jinchuriki in Konoha, his mother and great aunt, Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Mito. Though repeatedly pressed, Hiruzen refused to discuss his father, claiming, "There are some things you are still too young and inexperienced to know."

* * *

><p>The bleary-eyed preteen stumbles out of bed, clumsily stripping off his bright orange outer clothing, making his way to the bathroom. Barely pausing to remove his last layer of clothes, Naruto plops onto a stool, ready to scrub off yesterday's grime before soaking in cold water to wake himself up. The young man suddenly freezes as new memories of last night assault his sleep-addled mind. While not painful, the thoughts confuse him and drive his consciousness to the forefront with new revelations on his, now favorite, jutsu.<p>

_Flashback_

_Iruka just told Naruto to run after protecting him from a hail of shuriken and kunai. The academy student's mind was racing a mile a minute trying to come to terms with everything that he just learned and that had happened. As his mind slowed down, he realized that running flat out in the woods wouldn't save him. When running after his pranks, the older ninjas would always take to the rooftops, allowing for faster travel, and he realized that Mizuki would be able to do the same here in the woods._

_Stealth has always been his best skill, and now he had a new way to throw off pursuers. Putting thought into action, Naruto forms a cross-shaped hand seal and whispers "**Kage ****bunshin ****no ****jutsu**.", before four clones pop into existence around him in a cloud of smoke. Without a word, all five Narutos make a break for it, moving in different directions as quietly as possible._

_Not __even __fifteen __minutes __later __the __clones __all __remember __beating __Mizuki __unconscious. __The __shock __and __joy __from __the __memory __cause __three __of __them __to __promptly __fall __from __the __trees __where __they __were __hiding. __However, __the __fourth __clone __had __doubled __back __to __hide __in __the __old __shack __and __had __a __more __stable __position. _'What was that? How do I know the original pounded Mizuki-teme?'

_Unsure __if __the __sudden __memory __was __real __or __some __sort __of __genjutsu, __Naruto-clone __stealthily __left __the __shack __and __headed __to __where __he __remembered __the __fight __to __be. __Upon __arrival, __Naruto-clone __was __shocked __to __see __that __it __was __real. __There __he __was, __the __original __Naruto, __being __lead __away __by __Iruka __as __ANBU __secured __and __carried __Mizuki __away. __Sporting __a __face-splitting __grin, __Naruto-clone __thought, _'This is AWESOME! I wonder what else I can do.' _Looking __towards __his __right __hand, __resting __on __the __cloned __scroll, __Naruto-clone __decided __to __read __the __instructions __again __and __make __sure __that __he __knew __everything __that __his __favorite __jutsu __could __do._

_An __hour __later, __despite __the __amount __of __kanji __that __he __had __to __figure __out __from __context, __Naruto-clone __was __certain __that __he __knew __of __everything __that __he __was __capable. _'So, when created we all know everything boss did at that time including any immediate plans. We all, including boss, have an equal amount of chakra based on what he had available at the time, can do anything boss can do, think independently, and when we dispel, our memories are restored to boss and all the other clones. On the down side, if too many dispel at once it can cause headaches and unconsciousness. Once we pop, anything we were created with goes away as well. We can pop with a strong hit and we constantly use what chakra we have to maintain our form, even if we don't do anything else, so once our chakra drops below the minimum for the jutsu, we pop. … … … I'm AWESOME!'

_With a frown, Naruto-clone looks at the scroll and makes a decision that Hokage-jiji might be mad about, but considering how people seem to be afraid of him learning anything, this may be his last chance to learn new jutsu. Not knowing how long he can last, Naruto-clone hides the scroll and quickly raids his apartment for blank scrolls and ink to copy as many techniques as possible. Rushing back to the shack, Naruto-clone sets to work, copying jutsu as neatly as he can and immediately hiding each scroll as soon as it is full._

_End Flashback_

Uncertain how best to use this new development, Naruto continues his morning rituals before running off to the Hokage tower. Quickly affixing his infamous grin, he travels the streets, trying to ignore the looks from those he passes. Even with years of practice, it seems harder to ignore them this morning. Perhaps rumors from last night increased the level of distrust and fear, or simply knowing _why_ has caused him to be more aware of the cold eyes that follow his every move.

Neither able or desiring to deal with the villagers this morning, Naruto heads down an alley for privacy before quickly transforming into a dog and continuing on his way, hoping anyone noticing the chakra will assume he's an Inuzuka ninken. It's time to meet with Hokage-jiji again to learn the cover story before heading to the academy with Iruka-sensei for whatever the test is. _'__When __that__'__s __done __with, __I__'__ll __grab __those __scrolls __to __take __home.__'_

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><p>A short while later two men are staring intently at a head-sized crystal ball set upon a cushion between them. The older man has receding, spiky, steel-grey hair and is dressed in a deceptively simple looking formal robe of office while smoking from his pipe. Across from him sits a noticeably younger man in his mid to late twenties. He is dressed in the standard Konoha shinobi uniform of dark combat pants and jacket with a green jonin vest and utility pouch against his right thigh. His hitai-ate is used as an eye patch over his left eye while a black mask covers his face from the bridge of his nose down. The only other notable feature is his long, broom-like, silvery hair.<p>

Within the sphere, they are viewing a long, boring, and frustratingly comprehensive examination for one Uzumaki Naruto as administered by the chunin sensei, Umino Iruka.

After leaving the Hokage's office last night, Iruka spent hours devising a test to measure Naruto's strengths and weaknesses accurately. Today, Naruto's mind is being tested through a battery of exams that focus on reading comprehension, verbal comprehension, writing, math, history, chemistry, strategy, tactics, analytics, command structure, and socialization. On Sunday, the exam continues by testing his physical health, overall athleticism, taijutsu (unarmed combat), kenjutsu (armed combat), ninjutsu, genjutsu, and chakra capacity/control. Throughout both days, Naruto's mental health is being secretly evaluated by two ranking members of T&I, Yamanaka Inoichi and Morino Ibiki.

The first sets of tests include both written and oral questions and answers, and are comprised of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and essay questions. Many of the questions are repeated in multiple formats to further pinpoint deficiencies and guesswork. All the while, Inoichi and Ibiki view the exam from the other side of a two-way mirror. While Ibiki studies Naruto's physical reactions to stress, Inoichi maintains a less invasive mind scan to understand his emotions and thought processes.

Hours after beginning the first of a planned three exams, Naruto attempts to stare resolutely at the same sheets of paper. Eyes darting from the paper, to his surroundings, and back to the paper; fingers constantly beating a pattern onto any available surface; right leg rapidly bouncing, vibrating like a taut guitar string; one Uzumaki Naruto is both frustrated and distracted from what is before him. There are two hundred questions broken into ten categories of fifteen to twenty-five questions each. By now, he has gone through the entire test twice and managed to answer nearly half of them, "GAH! I can't take it anymore, Iruka-sensei! Most of these questions don't even make sense."

With a small sigh, Iruka calmly replies, "Naruto, every question in that test was taken from a previous test. You know this information or you wouldn't be here."

Scratching the scar on his nose Iruka searches in his desk for yellow highlighter, "How about this? Take the marker and highlight everything that's giving you trouble. If it's the whole question, highlight the number, if it's only a few words in the question, highlight that part. When you're done with that, bring the test to me and we'll start the next one."

Naruto's face pales as he listens to Iruka before he whines, "Another one? I thought this was the only one today. I know that this has questions from every subject. Why is there another after it?"

A disappointed expression crosses Iruka's face as he looks at Naruto, "I told you this already. This is a comprehensive exam with multiple parts to it." Sighing at the look of shock and fear on the boy's face he continues, "Hokage-sama told you this would be difficult and require you to work your hardest. Don't forget your promise from last night. Now, take the highlighter and get to work. We'll go over the problem areas after the exams are finished. Trust me; it will be worth it in the end."

Pouting and upset with himself, Naruto takes the highlighter and goes back through the exam with a mumbled, "Hai, sensei."

"Cheer up, Naruto. The next part is more hands-on with less reading. As soon as you finish there, move over to the lab table that's already set up."

Looking forward to getting up for a while and moving on to more practical applications, Naruto's grin returns as he shouts out a happy, "Hai!" as he begins highlighting the test.

After Naruto returns the test booklet to Iruka and settles down at the lab table, Iruka begins the next exam consisting of oral questions to be answered in a booklet or by lab performance. "Here's your test booklet. During this part of the exam, I'll ask you questions or have you use the lab facilities. Write your answers in the booklet, using as much or as little space as you need. When using the lab to create something, write out the formula and steps that you take to prepare it."

"Problem one: create a smoke pellet. If you don't see what you need, ask me and I will get it for you. Begin."

* * *

><p>In a neighboring room, two men sit watching the exam through a two-way mirror, evaluating both the chunin sensei and new genin. The man on the left looks to be in his mid thirties and has long blonde hair, held back in a ponytail, with pale blue eyes and an angular face. He wears a standard shinobi uniform with a jonin vest. Next to him sits another man of about the same age wearing a dark bandana that completely covers his head. He has obvious scaring on his face that seems set in an eternal scowl and is wearing a dark trench coat that obscures his clothing and form.<p>

In front of each man are two notebooks. On one notebook, sloppy kanji appears as if written by an invisible hand. On the other notebook, each man writes their own notes in neat kanji or coded script of their thoughts and observations.

"So far, this isn't going quite as I expected." the blonde man speaks lowly, almost as if mumbling to himself.

"I don't know, Inoichi. From the reports I've seen, this is what I expected. The boy is unprepared and he knows it. His bluster and bravado is a cover. He hasn't taken his academy time seriously and it has greatly hampered him."

"Yes and no, Ibiki. You are right in that he isn't prepared for the exam. But from what I can see in his mind, he has taken everything in his life seriously." Inoichi replied frowning, still speaking in a whisper.

A noticeably irate Ibiki grunts, "Not seriously enough. He probably guessed at the questions that he did answer in the first exam. And now, on this one, he keeps asking for ingredients that are right in front of him, or that have nothing to do with the compounds that are taught in the academy."

At this Inoichi glances at his partner and superior in the Torture and Interrogation division before calmly remarking, "That is because he can barely read. He spent most of the first test deciphering the questions. With this one, he's answering the questions as simply as possible or determining the ingredients from sight. He's putting the compounds together from memory using the ingredients that he found would work, not from anything that should have been taught here."

The two fall silent again while the test continues with the only sound coming from the room being the scratching of pen on paper.

Again, Inoichi breaks the silence, "I'm putting together a list of merchants and academy sensei to investigate after the testing is done."

Raising his brow in question, "What brings that up? It's not often that you discuss a different case while on a mission."

"Every time Iruka has him create something, I follow Naruto's memories on how he learned to make it. At the least, there was a great deal of negligence in his training. At the worst, they committed treason in intentionally retarding the education of the jinchuriki and a ninja trainee." Inoichi again looks at his partner before continuing, "Honestly, I fully evaluated his mental state during the first exam. The only reason I'm still here is to get more information on what was done to him while I can. If he never told Hokage-sama about what happened before, he won't now or to us, especially not to someone that he doesn't know or trust."

* * *

><p>Seven hours after the start of the exam, Iruka finally closes the last of the three test booklets. "Congratulations, Naruto. That was the last of the planned tests for today."<p>

Upon hearing those words, the forlorn young man immediately perks up, lets out a relieved sigh, and scratches the back of his head, "Thank kami! I thought it would never end. I was beginning to think Mizuki-teme killed me and this was really hell."

Iruka smiles at the young blonde and shakes his head, "No such luck, I'm afraid. It was all real, so you have to deal with it."

An annoyed look passes across Naruto's face as he replies sarcastically and pouts, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka grins and replies, "Oh, no problem at all, Naruto. I always have complete faith in you."

Naruto looks nonplussed as he tries to figure out the insult that just HAS to be in there.

"Since we have time left, you get to take one more test that I was going to put off until tomorrow. However, seeing as you've been sitting here all day and we have plenty of time... well, you should be full of energy to burn and it won't hurt to get this out of the way."

Scratching his head in confusion, Naruto confronts his teacher, "What are you talking about, Iruka-sensei? I thought you wanted all of the physical tests tomorrow."

"This is more of a chakra test than a physical test. Besides, doing this now means that you won't be drained during the obstacle course, sparring, and other activities later. I need the room dark for this. Go black out the windows while I get the testing device."

When Iruka returned a few minutes later with a rolling cart holding an uncovered electric lamp, the only curtain left to be drawn was over the door. "This is a fuinjutsu-based device that can be used to infer your chakra control and how much chakra you have."

Setting the cart in the middle of the room, Iruka places his hand on the seal surrounding the lamp, "When you channel chakra into the seal, it gets converted to raiton chakra that powers the lamp." Demonstrating his instructions, the lamp began glowing with a steady white glow. "The light changes in brightness depending on how much chakra you channel and stays at a steady level for as long as you channel the same amount. Any change will cause the light to flicker." Again, Iruka demonstrates, causing the light to dim, brighten, and flicker.

Seeing that he had Naruto's rapt attention, Iruka continued, "Most genin cannot easily create a bright light, hence the black-out curtains. Now, place your hand anywhere on the seal. I need to turn the lights out here, so don't channel chakra until I tell you to."

After closing the last curtain and turning out the lights, Iruka returns to the cart and begins fumbling with something in the dark. "OK. To start with, channel as much chakra as you use for the henge into the seal and hold it at that level."

Naruto nervously responds with a, "Hai," and promptly produces a blinding flash as the light bulb blows.

"Ack! Damn it, Naruto, this is no time for pranks." Iruka stumbles for the light switch as he tries to clear his tearing eyes of the after image. "That was way too much chakra for the henge!"

Naruto was also rubbing his eyes furiously as he tried to defend himself, "I wouldn't prank you, Iruka-sensei, not during this testing. That's how much chakra I use for my henge."

As the lights come back on, Iruka sighs, "Let's try this again. This thing isn't used very often, so the bulb was probably just old. I'll get a new one and be right back."

Naruto could only look down at the device as Iruka left; trying to figure out what went wrong.

Iruka quickly returns carrying a box of bulbs to find Naruto copying the intricate seal into a scroll, "What are you doing over there, Naruto?"

With a startled yelp, Naruto replies with a grin, "Just trying to figure this out, Iruka-sensei. Seems like a cheap way to light my apartment, dattebayo!"

Iruka smiles and shakes his head at the boy's statement, "Not really. This was originally made to prove a point when the Merchants' Guild petitioned Hokage-sama to use shinobi to power Konoha's electrical grid. While a ninja can use chakra to create many powerful effects, it cannot be done at the duration and output level needed to power a city. Generally speaking, a genin could power this lamp for only a few minutes of useable light levels. A chunin, maybe half an hour. A jonin could keep it going for a few hours. It would take every shinobi in Konoha to power the city for just an hour. Afterwards they would all be hospitalized for chakra exhaustion for at least a week."

A jaw-dropping Naruto exclaims, "B-b-but, it's just one little light! How could it take that much chakra?"

Iruka grins as he continues his lecture mode, happy that Naruto is showing such interest, "When any shinobi creates raiton, it is still chakra, not actual electricity. Lightning chakra is far weaker than natural lightning and more is required to produce the same results. For example, the static discharge you receive when touching a metal pole after rubbing your feet on carpet is rather minor, but enough to make your hand jump and for you to yelp and be distracted. There is an E-ranked jutsu that does something similar. It uses more chakra than most of the E-rank jutsu that we are allowed to teach in the academy and could not be maintained for very long by a new genin."

Taking in the look of surprise on Naruto's face, he screws in the new bulb and continues, "This light requires more electricity than the shock jutsu to be as bright as the overhead lights and requires you to maintain that level of output for a sustained period." Having finished his lecture, Iruka brings it back to the matter at hand, "Normally, I would have you channel as much chakra as you can into the light to get it lit up before having you use the least amount that you could. However, we'll do it backwards this time."

"I'll leave the lights on for now. Place your hand on the seal and channel the least amount of chakra that you can into it."

Naruto does as told and the lamp quickly brightens to the same level Iruka previously demonstrated to everyone's surprise. "That's too much, Naruto. Reduce the chakra flow as much as you can."

Naruto's face scrunches up in concentration as the light flickers rapidly off and on, "That's as low as I can go, Iruka-sensei. When I try to channel less, it just stops."

His mind lost in thought, Iruka mumbles his response, "Just… hold it steady at that level. I'll record how long that you can maintain it before having you max your output."

The light continues to flicker dimmer and brighter without turning off for five minutes before Iruka has Naruto increase his chakra output to his maximum. A blue light briefly surrounds Naruto as the lamp bulb bursts into a cloud of glass and powder.

"Aaahhhh!"

"Naruto!"

Shaking from the adrenalin reaction, Naruto slowly lowers his arms from his face, "I th-th-think I'm OK, sensei." Calming down, Naruto looks at the damage caused by the exploding light, noticing a few larger pieces of glass and a lot of powder covering the table and both he and Iruka. "What happened?"

Taking stock of the room, Iruka begins cleaning up the glass while answering, "We found out why you can't do the academy bunshin."

Tilting his head to the right, Naruto asks, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Gesturing for Naruto to help him, Iruka continues to clean up while explaining, "That device… though we can't say how much chakra anybody has, it is very useful for determining the general amount of chakra a person has." Pausing to think of how to word this, he continues, "Measuring chakra… hmmm… measuring anything is about being able to quantify it, creating a specific repeatable amount of the item that is recognized as '1 unit' and then distinguishing multiple units to say 'this is 500 units, this is 1,000 units, this is 5,000 units' and so on."

Having already lost Naruto, Iruka tries a different tactic, "Naruto, do you pay for your utilities separate from rent, or is it all one bill?"

"Huh? Umm, I don't get the bills for that anymore, jiji gets them and has it paid out of my money."

Iruka's eyebrow rises at that, "Well then, do you use a ruler or measuring cup at home?"

Naruto rolls his eyes at his sensei, "Of course I do. Why?"

With a kindly smile, Iruka sits on his desk to continue lecturing, "The marks on the cup denote set units of measure for the water. Long ago, someone came up with the idea of standardizing the measuring of water, primarily to aid in trade, and now we all use the same system. We can easily say, 'this is one liter of water' or, 'you used fifty liters of water last month and this is how much that costs'. Does that make sense?"

Scrunching his head in concentration, "Oh, yeah! It's how I know how much hot water to put in the instant ramen. What does that have to do with chakra?"

"Chakra is like water in that you need to measure how much you use with each technique. Say that you need 100 milliliters of chakra to perform a bunshin, but the smallest container you can fill is 1 liter. So, you put that 1 liter of chakra into the bunshin and hope for the best. Unfortunately, a bunshin is like a small water balloon and can only hold so much extra water before bursting."

Realization dawns on Naruto's face, "So, I keep putting 1 liter into my bunshins and they blow up, leaving useless balloon scraps lying around? Now I need to learn how to stop the water before filling up a liter?"

Iruka smiles and nods at Naruto's understanding, "Exactly! Too little chakra and the balloon doesn't inflate, too much and kaboom, burst balloon. However, some jutsu are less fragile or require more chakra, with others, the more you add, the greater the effect. Not only do you need to learn to control how much chakra you use, but also the rate at which you use it. I've never seen a genin with as much chakra as you just showed or as poor of control and will talk to Hokage-sama about it after tomorrow's test to get suggestions on exercises. I'm unsure if the standard ones will be enough."

Having finished cleaning up from the exam the two ninja take the cart back to storage before heading out for the evening. "Don't forget to be here first thing tomorrow morning. If it goes well, the exam shouldn't take near as long. That being said, tomorrow's exams will be physically demanding. Get plenty of rest and eat something other than ramen tonight."

In a hurry to review today's tests and prepare for tomorrow, Iruka doesn't notice the large dog that leaves the academy after Naruto, heading towards the woods.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I have finally posted the first chapter of "Casting the Vessel". I am not a very prolific writer, so updates will be at least a month apart. I do not have a goal for chapter length; it is simply a matter of ending the chapter where it feels right.


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